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UZMANĪBU!!!
Ferrets are adorable, hilarious, playful animals that are also super cute. They sleep a lot, but are pretty much always up for playtime whenever you are, even if that's at noon one day and at midnight the next. Most people who are allergic to dogs and cats are not allergic to them.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself before getting a ferret:
What would I do if an animal shit on my floor, RIGHT NOW?
What would I do if it shit on the floor again an hour later?
Do I have the time to let my ferrets out of the cage for at least a couple of hours a day, every day?
Can I get someone to take care of my ferrets if I am away from home for more than 24 hours?
Can I set aside AT MINIMUM $500, ideally more, in a separate account or a credit card to pay unexpected medical bills?
Do I live in a place where ferrets are illegal, like California, Hawaii, Washington DC, New York City, New Zealand or Queensland or the Northern Territory in Australia? (NOT A COMPLETE LIST) Am I likely to move to one within the next few years?
Do I live with small children, or do I plan to do so within the next few years? (Well-behaved small children and ferrets are not fundamentally incompatible, but it is like... ferret ownership EXPERT MODE.)
How do my current roommates (and landlord) feel about ferrets? (Landlords generally don't need to be 100% on board with the idea as long as the lease doesn't forbid it, but roommates really should be)
Am I willing and able to factor ferrets into my future housing decisions? (You'll have to find apartments that allow them if you rent, and you'll WANT to find places without carpet - this will increase the length of your housing search, and you may have to pay more or settle for less in other areas)
Do I live with an animal that would pose a danger to ferrets (some dogs and cats with a very high prey drive) or one that ferrets might hurt (small rodents and birds), and can I take appropriate precautions?
You'll also need to decide how MANY ferrets you want. They are a very cuddly, social animal that benefits from having a buddy to sleep with, groom, and play with. They will play with you, too, of course, whether they're single or in pairs, but it's kind of sad when you're playing and they run under the couch, then come back out and look at you like "come ON why aren't you FOLLOWING ME?" Two ferrets have basically the same housing and bedding requirements as one, and you can buy bigger bags of food without worrying that it'll go stale. You'll want to have a bit more in your vet fund in case ferret #1 has a problem, then ferret #2 has one before you've fully replenished the fund. However, if you're really set on having just ONE, a rescue can probably match you with a ferret who doesn't like other ferrets much. (they do exist!)
Once you've figured that out, you will need to
Figure out where you're getting your ferret(s)
Set up, or at least plan, what you're going to do for housing, bedding, and litter
Ferret proof your house, or at least the rooms where the ferret(s) will be allowed
Get a high-quality ferret food
Get other important (and maybe some not-so-important) supplies
Research ferret vets in your area
Read up on common ferret behavioral and health problems
All of these things are addressed in the posts below this one. Aren't you lucky? So go ahead and read the first page of this thread. If your question isn't answered there, don't feel like you need to read the whole thread before you post - after all, if a question is asked so much we're sick of answering it, it really should be addressed at the beginning of the thread.
So, you still want ferrets.
Here is where people get ferrets from:
Ferret rescues or animal shelters (yay!)
Pet stores (boo!)
Breeders
Craigslist, Kijiji, or similar sites
Your irresponsible friend who doesn't want his ferret anymore
Ferret rescues are by far the best place to get ferrets for most people in North America, because they'll be very familiar with the health, temperament, and idiosyncracies of each individual ferret and will be able to match you with one who's really good for you. They're also a great resource for figuring out which local vets are good, where to buy supplies, how to ferret proof your particular home, and all sorts of other things the internet can't help you with. Some rescues also do fostering, where you take care of the ferret and (in some cases) pay for its food and supplies, and they pay for its medical bills. If you are broke and still want to have ferrets, this is a great way to do it. Rather than giving a list that'll quickly become out of date, I'll just say that if you're interested in rescuing, post and ASK. We will help you find something.
Pet stores sell baby ferrets to any idiot who walks in off the street, you included. This is bad. But what's worse is where they get the ferrets from. They get them from large scale ferret mills (think puppy mills only more sad because ferrets are way better than puppies) that DON'T breed for the long-term health of your ferret. They breed ferrets that sell well as babies at pet stores. Period. At some mills, like Marshall Farms, they also breed for ferrets that will do well as lab animals for biomedical research. Whether or not you think that's good or right or necessary, what the biomedical industry wants in a ferret and what you want in a ferret are not really going to be the same things. While some do win the genetic lottery and come out robust and healthy, like one my local ferret rescue recently had to put down at 9 1/2, others drop dead at 3 1/2, like my Marshall's ferret Sassy. And YOU, an inexperienced person looking at a bunch of little baby ferrets, are not going to be able to tell which is which. If you get your ferret from a pet store and thus support ferret mills, we will still help you take good care of it. We're not going to make a ferret suffer in order to make you feel bad about where you got it. But YOU ARE THE REASON OUR FERRETS DIE SO YOUNG, YOU JERK. There. Got it out of my system now.
Breeders are not really an option for most people in North America, because the market is so thoroughly dominated by milled ferrets, who are all sold spayed and neutered. But let's say you live in Europe, or you find one. You'll need to figure out whether the breeder is good or not. So ask some questions! A good breeder will talk to you about their ferrets and plans until you are thoroughly sick of it. If you post the answers to the questions here, we can tell you if they're good ones.
Where do your breeding ferrets come from?
How do you choose which ferrets to breed to each other?
Where do the ferrets you breed end up? (hunting, show, housepets...)
What are your goals for this litter?
How long do your ferrets usually live, and what do they usually die from?
Do you offer any health guarantees?
If I'm ever unable to keep my ferret, will you help me find it a new home?
Craigslist, Kijiji, and whatever may, depending on your area, be full of people getting rid of their unwanted ferrets, often with supplies like a cage included. This doesn't directly support ferret mills like buying from pet stores does, but it does (assuming you pay significantly more than you would for just the supplies) encourage people to think of ferrets as just a commodity you can get most of your money back for if you don't want it anymore. You're also reliant on the word of someone who doesn't necessarily have the best interests of you OR the ferret in mind, and who may not be that experienced with ferrets, to give you accurate information about the ferret's age, health, and temperament. I got my first two ferrets this way, and while we loved them dearly and the girl who sold them and their stuff to us was not trying to take advantage of us, one of the ferrets developed an expensive chronic health problem soon after we got them, and it was only maybe two months before we'd paid more in medical bills than we paid for the ferrets in the first place. Knowing what I do now, I can say that the ferret in question was just starting to show signs of the problem when we got her, but it's not something you can generally identify without experience. If you don't have a ferret rescue near you, though, this CAN be a good way to get ferrets. Go with ones that are claimed to be young, 1-2 years old if you can find them, and for god's sake check their teeth to make sure. Ferrets that age should have relatively clean teeth, and the canine teeth (the long vampire fang ones) should be a nice bright white almost the whole way down the tooth, with maybe a little bit of yellowing/translucent area at the end of the tooth. Check out the medical section to make sure you don't see any of those signs of diseases. Ask the person if you can get vet records. They may not have them on hand, but they should be willing to tell you which vet or vets the ferret has been to and call to have the records sent to your new vet, if you're not using the same one.
Your irresponsible friend who doesn't want a ferret anymore probably won't be trying to lie to you like someone you're giving money to might, but irresponsible people also don't tend to take great care of their ferrets or notice signs of health problems.
Ferrets LOVE to knock stuff over, climb things, and get into holes. Unless you want your stuff destroyed and/or your ferret injured, you'll need to ferretproof your house. Here's what to do:
Supplies for ferretproofing:
A ping-pong ball
A measuring tape, or a ruler at least 12" long
A flashlight
A sheet or two of corrugated plastic, available with a trip to Home Depot or by scavenging old real estate or political candidate signs.
Double-sided foam tape, or another way to attach the corrugated plastic to stuff
An x-acto knife to cut the coroplast
The ping-pong ball represents the ferret's head. Any holes larger than a ping-pong ball that lead to places you don't want the ferret to go will need to be blocked off. The measuring tape will tell you how high the ferret can reach. In my experience, a large and motivated ferret can knock over things (like garbage cans) up to 18" high, and can climb up onto things about 12" high even without anything to dig his or her back claws into. Fabric or anything that allows the ferret to get a boost with its back legs extends that range pretty much indefinitely.
So! Take your ping-pong ball, your ruler, your flashlight, and go around your house looking for stuff your ferret can get into. When you see it, block it off with the coroplast. Get down on your hands and knees, or even on your belly, so you can see things from a more ferret-like angle. Pay special attention to:
Cabinets - if you can open it with your toe, the ferret can open it. Either get all the dangerous (sharp, chemical-y, whatever) things out of the cabinet, get really strong latches to keep it closed, or keep the ferret out of that room.
Areas inside cabinets - particularly in kitchens, these can often have holes big enough for a ferret to fit into.
Areas next to, behind, and under appliances - again, particularly in kitchens. Even if the ferret can't get all the way behind, around, or under the appliance, are the edges of the appliance sharp or hot?
Just the whole damn kitchen in general - Honestly, kitchens tend to contain at least 3/4 of the ferret death traps in a house. You can ferretproof it if you really work at it, but most of the time, it's just going to be easier to ban the ferrets from the kitchen.
RECLINERS and ROCKING CHAIRS - These things can easily kill a ferret if they get up inside the mechanism or go under the rocking chair. And they will, because they are ferrets. Your options are not letting the ferrets into the room the chair is in, getting rid of the chair, or vigilantly enforcing the rule that no one is EVER allowed to sit in the chair before making sure ALL the ferrets are in the cage.
Couches - Ferrets will happily squirm down into the recesses of the couch, either by going around the seat cushions (use your ping-pong ball to see if they can do this - really jam it into the edges by the arms and back) or by clawing open the fabric stuff that covers the springs underneath. Block their access from the top of the couch by stuffing bits of fabric or squishy foam in there, and block their access from below with coroplast attached to the bottom of the couch. Cardboard can also work here if it's good, thick cardboard.
Heating grates and radiators - Some old heating grates have very widely-spaced bars. Some are not well-attached. Some radiators may be dangerous, especially if they get really hot. (If it can burn your fingers, it can burn your ferret's nose or paws) If you're not sure how to make it safe, ask.
Drawers - a determined ferret can pull dresser drawers out and climb into them. A REALLY determined ferret can stand in one dresser drawer, push the next one out, climb up into that one, and so on until it reaches the top of the dresser. This is usually more cute than it is dangerous, but you should be aware of it.
Things on tables - You are not allowed to have nice knick-knacs anymore unless you put them somewhere enclosed or inaccessible. I'm sorry.
Most ferrets don't chew cords like rodents do. (Because they are NOT RODENTS) But some do. If yours has this problem and it's not fixed by spraying the cord with bitter apple or another taste deterrent, you'll need to move the cords. Some ferrets also have a fixation on chewing things with a foamy or rubbery texture. Remote control buttons and those little foam earplugs are reported favorites. This can give your ferret an intestinal blockage, and those are both deadly and expensive, so you'll want to practice keeping those things somewhere the ferret can't get to.
What should ferrets eat?
Short answer:
Meat.
Long answer:
Ferrets' wild ancestors are European polecats, who are related to them in the same way that wolves are related to dogs. European polecats eat rodents, frogs, small birds, and some insects. Ferrets were domesticated and bred for centuries to hunt rabbits. These things should be kept in mind when planning a diet for a ferret.
For most owners, the best way to feed ferrets will be with an appropriate, high-quality dry kibble, supplemented by canned wet food, raw meat, and/or whole prey. I suggest keeping at least some kibble in their diet for a few reasons:
They have very, very speedy little digestive systems and need to eat often. You presumably have a job and/or hobbies that take you out of the house for a while each day.
If someone needs to take care of your ferret, it's a lot easier to ask them to fill up a bowl of kibble than to defrost and slice open a mouse
Feeding a good kibble takes away some of the need to worry about whether you're getting all the appropriate nutrients into the raw diet you're providing.
North American ferrets should always be free-fed, with their bowl kept full of kibble - as long as they're getting enough time out of the cage, they won't get fat. They get underweight, not overweight. For European ferrets, talk to an experienced ferret vet about how much your ferret should be eating per day, and how to tell if it's getting too chubby.
You may want to take your ferret's dry food away for an hour or two before offering wet food, raw, or whole prey, just so s/he isn't totally full when you offer it.
Kibble
The dietary requirements of ferrets are very similar to the dietary requirements of kittens. This is really lucky for ferret owners, because the trend toward grain-free cat foods in the past five years or so means that we now have many, many great foods to choose from. They're better than even good ferret foods used to be, they're easier to find, they're cheaper, and they're available in larger bags. Technically, ferrets can get by on most kitten foods of at least reasonable quality, or pretty much anything sold as ferret food, but this really isn't a good idea. Not only will they have to eat a lot more of the crappy food, thus negating a lot of your cost savings, they'll be less healthy and need more vet care. And, worst of all, they will smell a lot worse. Seriously. They will poop more, the poop will smell worse, their coats will be greasier, and that grease will smell BAD. Feeding a good food is really, really worth it.
Here are some general principles to follow when choosing a ferret food:
Maximize meat, minimize grains. Grain free if possible. For the love of god, no corn.
Maximize protein, minimize carbohydrates and fiber. Ferrets don't do well with fiber, keep it under 3%.
Maximize real meat, minimize fish, byproducts, and unnamed "meat". Fish causes odor problems for ferrets if there's too much of it in a food, byproducts and unnamed meat should be avoided for any animal's food.
If it's appropriate for kittens, it's probably appropriate for ferrets. Lots of great foods say "all life stages" or "kitten and cat food" on them, so don't reject it just because there isn't a picture of a ferret on the bag.
Here are some good brands, in no particular order. Many of these sites have store locators.
Orijen Cat & Kitten (not the 6 Fresh Fish kind) - made in a single company-owned factory in Canada with meats certified as fit for human consumption and all locally-sourced ingredients, which is good if you're worried about shoddy overseas industrial practices letting poison get into pet food. Again. CHINA WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU. Made with free-range poultry, which is good if you're a fucking hippie. I feed Orijen.
Acana Prairie Feast for Cat or Grasslands for Cat - made by the same company that makes Orijen. A little lower in protein, which can be easier for some ferrets' digestive systems to handle, particularly when they get older. Grasslands doesn't have chicken, in case you have a ferret who can't tolerate chicken, though that's pretty rare.
Nature's Variety for cats, chicken meal or rabbit meal formula - uses tapioca as its starch source rather than potatoes like all the other grain free foods, which is kind of cool. Has a rabbit-based kibble, which is REALLY cool. Made in US factories, though they're not specific about where or who owns them. Some of their rabbit meat comes from China, but they claim to inspect and test the FUCK out of it.
Wellness - either CORE for cats or Kitten Health. CORE is grain free, Kitten Health isn't. Can sometimes be easier to find than other brands.
Innova EVO Ferret, Innova EVO Cat Turkey & Chicken, or Innova Cat & Kitten. EVO is grain free, Innova regular isn't. Very high protein. If you can find both EVO Ferret and EVO Cat, buy whichever one is cheaper.
Before Grain Chicken Meal formula for cats. Another slightly lower protein one - like Acana, can be good for ferrets who have issues with very high protein diets.
Felidae Grain Free or Cat & Kitten. The grain free one is grain free. The other one isn't.
Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline formula. At the top end of the acceptable fiber range at 3%, but if you can find it and your ferret likes it, give it a try!
Now! Grain Free Kitten Formula. Also at the top end of the acceptable fiber range, but can be another good choice.
Solid Gold Indigo Moon - another 3% fiber grain free food.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness for cats - grain free, sometimes available at Petsmart. The Petsmart website says that Blue Buffalo Wildnerness Chicken Formula has 1.6% fiber, but the manufacturer's website says it has 4%, so check the bag. The duck formula's supposed to have only 3%, if you can find it. I don't know.
Eight-in-One Ultimate ferret food (NOT ULTRA BLEND) - not grain free, but pretty good and sold at Petsmart and other chain pet stores. Can be more expensive in the long run because it comes in a smaller bag than cat food generally does.
ZuPreem ferret food - has wheat, but is otherwise decent. Also sold at Petsmart and other chain pet stores.
If none of these things are available in your area, post and let us know where you live, and we'll try to help you figure out what to do.
Wet Food
Look for a canned cat food with no byproducts, "digest", or "animal" anything, and little or no fish. Your ferret might not recognize it as food at first, but if you take a big spoonful, mix it with just a little warm water to make it runnier and stronger smelling, and squirt or push a little bit into the ferret's mouth, it should get the idea after a few tries. Since ferrets don't eat as much as cats, you'll want to either buy the really tiny cans or freeze the leftovers. Ice cube trays work well for this. My favorite wet food is Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit - the ferrets LOVE this shit. Secret tip: the dog version of this food is exactly the same as the cat version, only it's cheaper and comes in bigger cans. This is not generally true for most foods, though, so DON'T switch to the dog version of a food to save money unless you have it and the cat version side by side to compare nutrition information and ingredient lists.
Raw Meat
Just like with canned food, your ferret may not recognize this as food at first. They are picky little buggers, and once they're imprinted onto kibble = food as kits, it takes a lot of work to get them to expand their horizons. The best way to do it is to get them really, really loving canned food, then mix in a little bit of ground raw food. A lot of places sell premade frozen raw cat diets now, and those are good as long as they're not fish-based. Or you can put in some ground or minced raw chicken. Just wash your hands afterward. Once the ferret is happily eating the mostly-canned, partly-raw mix, increase the amount of raw, and put less-finely-ground bits in it. They can chew it, they have those pointy teeth for a reason. If a large proportion of your ferret's diet is going to be raw, it's important to get bones and organs and stuff in there instead of just muscle meats - prepared raw diets for cats are good for this. However, if the ferret is still mostly eating kibble with occasional raw treats, don't worry too much about it.
Whole Prey
Don't even try to get your ferret eating whole prey if it doesn't eat ground raw food, unless it's still very young - it really, truly, won't see it as food. But once you've got the ferret enjoying raw, whole prey can be really awesome. PI people seem to really like RodentPro for their small frozen animal needs, but they don't ship outside of the US. Start with the little pinky mice at first, until you know how much your ferret or ferrets are willing to eat in one sitting. Follow the site's instructions for thawing them and bringing them to body temperature. Especially at first, you may need to cut open the prey item so that your ferret realizes that there's tasty meat inside this skin. Maybe put a little Ferretone (see section on other ferret supplies) on it to get the ferret to lick it. The bathtub or shower is a good place to feed whole prey - you can hose it down afterward, and the ferret can't hide mouse parts under the couch.
Help! My ferret is...
[NOTE: NOT COMPLETE YET, BE PATIENT]
...stinky!
Unless your ferret hasn't been descented (unlikely, unless it was also unneutered when you got it), this is something you can improve all on your own, and pretty cheaply.
Make sure your ferret is eating a very high-quality food with very little fish in it. Check out the food post. Trust us, it makes a difference.
Don't give your ferret baths more often than a couple of times a year. Baths will just get them to produce MORE coat oil and thus more stank. They're self-cleaning, just leave them alone and they'll be less oily.
Change their litter more often. Poop smells bad. Duh.
Clean their bedding more. Bedding should be thrown in the wash every week with hot water and a good detergent. If it comes out of the dryer smelling like hot ferret ass, it's not clean yet. I like Win detergent, the unscented Win Green variety.
Clean their cage. It can get oily and stinky, too. If you can fit it in the shower or have access to a hose outside, you can wash it down with that if it gets a little ripe. You can also wipe it down with a paper towel dampened with vinegar or Nature's Miracle enzymatic cleaner, or spray those things on the cage. (not while a ferret is in it, though)
If you've done all that and you're still having odor problems, or if you need a temporary fix while someone who just cannot possibly smell ferrets ever comes to your house, there are a couple things you can do.
Ferret deodorizing/coat conditioning spray. Makes the ferret smell like cucumber melon, but has aloe in it and so is good for them if they have dry skin. Can refresh stinky bedding in between launderings, but doesn't last long.
Stuff that absorbs odors - baking soda, coffee grounds, or that volcanic odor absorbing rock stuff - can be put near the cage. Do not rub on ferrets.
If you need an air freshener for a short period of time, try to get one in a non-spray form. I like those scented oil candles. They don't seem to bother the ferrets.
...biting!
Ferrets generally bite for one of three reasons:
They are playing too hard. Sometimes ferrets, particularly young ones, don't realize that they can't play rough with their mouths with humans like they can with other ferrets.
They are scared and trying to defend themselves. If a ferret views a human (or just a hand or a foot) as a threat, it may bite to try to get the scary thing to go away.
They are jerks. If the ferret runs up to you, bites, and then runs away, this is probably what's going on.
(tips go here soon)
...itching!
Ferrets are generally itchy animals to begin with - they'll often wake up just to scratch. But if your ferret is constantly stopping dead in the middle of eating, playing, or using the litterbox to scratch, or if he or she is scratching so much it's causing injury, there is probably something wrong. Itchiness in ferrets can be caused by a few things, and here they are:
Fleas - yup, ferrets get them. Pick your ferret up and ruffle through its fur all over, looking closely for little black bugs. If you see them, your ferret has fleas. Don't just buy whatever at the pet store - you need to consult your vet about this.
Ear mites - these are much harder to see than fleas, but much more common. If your ferret is mostly scratching his head, ear mites might be the problem. Look for dark brownish-red earwax. It looks like dried blood, because it has dried blood in it. However, you can't completely confirm or rule out ear mites on your own, so if your ferret seems to have really itchy ears, go to the vet.
Dry skin - as a measure to temporarily help dry skin, you can try Eight-in-One "FerretSheen" deodorizing and coat conditioning spray - I don't normally like anything to smell like cucumber melon, but it does have aloe in it and seems to help. However, this problem can have a number of different causes, and the spray doesn't help any of them.
- Ferrets with a bad diet can definitely have dry skin, but if you're following our feeding instructions, it shouldn't be an issue.
- If your house has low humidity, that can also make your ferret's skin dry. This is often a problem in winter in places with a forced air (furnace) heating system. A little humidifier near the cage can help a lot.
- Are you giving your ferret baths? You probably shouldn't. It dries out their skin and coat and makes them overproduce oil to compensate, meaning that whatever smell you were trying to wash away comes back twice as bad. If your ferret gets into something that's messy, but that they would normally have access to, like poop or wet food, just rinse it off with warm water. Only wash your ferret (using a ferret shampoo) if it gets into something that could hurt it if it licked it off.
Mast cell tumors - if your ferret is scratching at a single spot, and if that spot is kind of crusty and scabby, it may be a mast cell tumor. They are generally benign but itchy. However, if the ferret is constantly scratching it, the open wound can be dangerous, so talk to your vet about whether s/he feels that this particular tumor on this particular ferret should be removed. If s/he would rather leave it be, there are things you can do to help it itch less and keep the ferret from opening up the wound again, so post and we'll tell you!
Adrenal disease - this one is a big one, so see the section on adrenal disease for more information.
...losing its fur!
This is another one with a few possible causes, one of which definitely requires vet intervention, so read carefully. Ferret hair loss can be caused by:
Seasonal shedding - ferrets normally shed twice a year, in the spring and the fall, but these times may be really affected by artificial light cycles. If the hair that your ferret is losing is mainly or entirely short, fluffy undercoat, from all over his or her body, while the longer, darker, less fluffy top hairs are staying in (give the fur a little tug to see what is coming out) it is probably a normal seasonal thing. Give a laxative regularly (see other posts) to make sure the hair doesn't form a blockage, wash the bedding more often, and wait. If you want to get the hair out faster, you can brush, gently tug on the hair with your fingertips, or give the ferret a warm bath and gently tug on the hair while the ferret is in the tub. Sometimes the ferret's coat WILL end up kind of patchy and bare, but check back in a couple of weeks and you'll be able to see that there IS new fur there. (Photos of this to be added in Spring 2010 when Laurel blows his winter coat again)
Rat tail, or tail alopecia - if your ferret's hair loss is ONLY on the tail, and if the tail has what look like little blackheads on it, it's probably rat tail. Ideas on how to deal with this differ - you can wait it out, and it'll probably go away with the next seasonal shed, or you can try to treat the ferret's tail blackheads by washing the tail regularly with a gentle cleanser.
Adrenal disease - this generally causes hair loss on the shoulders and at the base of the tail first, but it can spread to the whole body. In adrenal disease, the hairs that come out are more frequently the long hairs of the top coat rather than the shorter hairs of the undercoat. Read the section on adrenal disease and go to your vet.
... having weird poop!
Ferrets are not animals with a very robust digestive system, so here's a guide to ferret poop and what it means:
Brown poop that keeps its shape in the litterbox - normal
Brown and liquidy poop - mild to moderate diarrhea
Green or greenish yellow liquidy poop - bad diarrhea
Black, tar-like poop - blood higher up in the digestive system. Very bad. Vet.
Very, very thin poop - partial intestinal blockage. Also very bad. Vet.
Seedy-looking poop, kinda like whole grain mustard - food's not being absorbed very well. Try putting the ferret on some nice, bland soft food for a little while.
The following are the causes of diarrhea in ferrets:
Stress, sunspots, butterfly flapping wings in China... - sometimes diarrhea has no apparent underlying health cause. Make sure the ferret's not dehydrated, give a little bit of Kaopectate, (see ferret first aid section) and see if it clears up in a day or two IF THE FERRET SEEMS OTHERWISE HEALTHY.
Food problems - if you switch a ferret's food too quickly, it can cause diarrhea. If the ferret has problems with the particular protein source used in the food, it can cause diarrhea. If the ferret is getting older and suddenly having trouble tolerating such a high level of protein, it can cause diarrhea. If your ferret is still having diarrhea after following the advice above AND SEEMS OTHERWISE HEALTHY, it could be a food problem. Post! Ask what we think!
Actual illness affecting the digestive system, like ECE (green slime disease), lymphoma or something else - if your ferret does NOT seem otherwise healthy, if he or she is dehydrated, or if it has gone on too long to be a random problem and doesn't seem to be a food problem, go to the vet.
... coughing!
Coughing in ferrets can be caused by:
Hair in the throat, especially during shedding season - this is so common that I try to give a little bit of FerretLax every time a ferret coughs - a small amount won't hurt if it's another problem, and it'll help catch the hairs if they're there.
Inhaling dust or other particles - clean your fucking house.
Respiratory infection - ferrets get colds and the flu, too. Generally from you. If the ferret is also sneezing and a bit low on energy, this is probably it. However, as long as the ferret is still eating and drinking and not having difficulty breathing, most illnesses can be allowed to run their course without the need for a vet trip.
Cardiomyopathy - if the ferret has an enlarged heart, it can press on an area that makes the ferret cough. This generally results in long fits of repeated coughs rather than a couple of coughs at a time. See the cardiomyopathy section, this is a serious problem.
Lymphoma - fluid can, in some lymphoma cases, collect in and around the lungs, leading to coughing. See the lymphoma section, this is a serious problem.
...sneezing!
Sneezing is, luckily enough, a symptom NOT generally associated with horrible, horrible problems. Ferrets sneeze when they get into dust or other things that irritate their noses. They also sneeze when they have colds. If your ferret is sneezing a lot, has watery eyes, licks his/her nose a lot, and isn't as active as normal, he or she probably has a cold or something similar. Just like humans, ferrets generally get over their colds without too much trouble. That being said...
Make sure the ferret is eating. Sometimes they're reluctant to eat if they can't smell the food, and stuffed-up noses interfere with this. And they need those calories to get better! Try warmed-up (and hence smellier) wet food, or give a little Nutri-cal.
Whenever you shower, bring the ferret, some bedding, and a litterbox into the bathroom with you, and just let him/her snooze on the bathroom floor while you're showering. The heat and humidity will help unclog their lungs and nasal passages. It's good to do this a few times a day, so if you live with people who are willing to shower while a ferret's in the bathroom, or if you don't have to pay for your own hot water, you can do this frequently.
Do not give the ferret human cold medicine. Don't be stupid.
If the ferret seems to have actual difficulty breathing or is totally unwilling to eat, or if he or she doesn't seem to be on the mend within a week, you'll have to go to the vet.
Also, if you have a cage that can be split into two sections, or a separate cage, you may want to consider separating the sick ferret from any other ferrets you have to try to keep the others from catching the cold. Wash your hands in between touching the sick ferret and the healthy ones, too.
...losing weight!
Weight loss can be caused by:
Normal seasonal changes - is it spring? Is your ferret currently going through a spring shed, or did s/he do so recently? Before this, was he or she kind of chubby? Sometimes ferrets losing their winter weight will lose a LOT, then sort of rebound back up. If it's spring, and your ferret is shedding its winter coat and becoming MORE active, it's probably not a problem.
Not eating - kind of obvious, I know, but sometimes stress, a food change, being bullied by other ferrets, or things like that will make a ferret stop eating for a while. Ferrets that stop eating develop ulcers which, irritatingly enough, make it painful for them to eat. If you push a little bit of your ferret's favorite wet food or another tasty treat into his mouth and he starts grinding his teeth after eating it (a sign of mouth or abdominal pain), he probably has an ulcer. It'll require a vet visit, but it shouldn't break the bank - the cure is a medicine that coats the ulcer and keeps it from hurting, and it'll need to be given a few times a day until the ulcers heal, 15 minutes before you offer the ferret nice delicious wet food. (Or before you force-feed the ferret if it's not willing to eat on its own)
Lymphoma or adrenal disease - they are cancers. Cancers can make your ferret eat less, or stop eating. If your ferret's getting unusually thin, with spine and ribs really easy to feel, but is still independently eating small amounts, this is a likely problem. Go to the vet. (Note: ferrets who aren't eating due to one of these problems can then DEVELOP mouth ulcers, so just because your ferret seems to have mouth ulcers doesn't mean he doesn't have lymphoma or adrenal disease)
...grinding its teeth!
This is an easy one. Teeth grinding is a sign of PAIN, usually gastrointestinal pain. This could be caused by a mouth, esophageal, or stomach ulcer, or some other problem within the digestive system. You'll need to take the ferret to the vet, but if it's just an ulcer, the ferret will just need some medicine to coat it until it heals and it shouldn't be too expensive. Whether it's an emergency or not is determined by whether or not the ferret is still eating and pooping ok.
...not as energetic as normal!
A lack of energy CAN be a benign thing, or just a sign of aging, but it can also be an important early warning sign of a number of different major problems. Since their treatments are always cheaper and/or more successful earlier on in the course of the disease, if your ferret lacks energy, you should really keep a close eye out for other signs of illness.
Here's what can cause ferrets to become less energetic:
Winter - it's normal for them to be more active in the spring and summer and less active in the fall and winter. They should still be willing and able to play, though - just perhaps not quite as often or for quite as long.
Sadness - if a cagemate dies, or if a person they like a lot moves away, ferrets can get depressed. Give lots of extra attention for a few weeks. If it doesn't improve, you'll need to see a vet to rule out other problems.
Colds or similar illnesses - if the ferret is sniffling and sneezing and stuffy, it probably has a cold. A lack of energy is normal during this and should go away when the cold does. See "sneezing" for more information on colds.
Adrenal disease - see section on that.
Insulinoma - see section on that.
Cardiomyopathy - see section on that.
Lymphoma - see section on that.
...not waking up!
Well, you have three basic options here.
Your ferret is asleep - Sometimes ferrets are just very sleepy. Try picking your ferret up by the scruff and blowing on its face. This should make your ferret wake up, become alert, and get mildly irritated at you. Let the poor thing go back to sleep.
Your ferret is in a coma - Ferrets who have insulinoma can become comatose if their blood sugar drops too low. If your ferret will not wake up, but is still breathing, or will wake up a little bit but won't become alert, it may be having an episode of low blood sugar, even if it hasn't been diagnosed with insulinoma yet. You can quickly raise your ferret's blood sugar by rubbing corn syrup (best), honey (ok) or sugar water/juice/nondiet soda (better than nothing) on its gums, but your ferret will need to eat something high protein as soon as he or she wakes up, or his or her blood sugar is just going to crash again. If this happens and your ferret does NOT have insulinoma, you need to get it to the vet to get medication to prevent this. This kind of low blood sugar crisis is definitely an emergency and you need to respond to it as soon as possible, or the situation will change into...
Your ferret is dead - is your ferret cold? Stiff? Not breathing? No detectable heartbeat? Yep. Sorry. If you want to get a necropsy to determine the cause of death (they can be expensive) you should store the ferret in the fridge (not the freezer) until you can get it to a vet. This should be done as soon as possible, though. If you want to bury the ferret or have it cremated, you can put it in the freezer. Warning: this makes getting stuff out of your fridge or freezer kind of depressing.
